Local tech company SportsEngine announced Monday that co-founders Justin Kaufenberg, Carson Kipfer and Greg Blasko will leave the company to pursue personal interests.
SportsEngine President Brian Bell will replace Kaufenberg as CEO. Bell joined the company in 2015 as chief revenue officer and was promoted to president last year. Prior to joining SportsEngine, Bell held several executive positions at other tech companies, including president and COO of Code42.
As part of the transition, the company also announced several additional management changes, including the promotion of Brett MacKinnon to SVP of sales and Jody Vogelaar to SVP of marketing and content. Anna Klombies, SVP of HR, will also leave the company. Replacements were not announced for Blasko, CTO, and Kipfer, principal designer.
Founded in 2004, SportsEngine provides sport relationship-management software that helps sports organizations reduce the time they spend on administrative tasks.
SportsEngine is one of the Twin Cities' most high-profile tech startups in recent years. The company was acquired by NBC Sports Group for an undisclosed amount in 2016. Since then, SportsEngine has added more than 200 new employees, more than tripled its customer base and now serves more than 45,000 sports organizations.
"To be able to step away, knowing that the company is growing faster than ever, with better products than ever, with stronger leadership than ever, is really unique," Kaufenberg said in a statement. "Brian Bell and the rest of the leadership team are exceptional and they are just getting started. We are grateful to have had the opportunity to lead SportsEngine through the first chapter of its story."
